1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a self-service device for processing a mail piece, particularly a letter or a small parcel, to determine the postage fee with a scale that measures the weight.
The intent is to make it easy for the customers in post offices to dispatch their mailings, i.e., determine and affix the correct postage, through self-service.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the state of the art, post-offices used to have dial-head scales with postage fee tables. On these, however, it was cumbersome to read the applicable postage fees for common kinds of mailings.
In a typical postage fee structure distinctions are made in particular
a) according to the kind of mail piece: letter, post card, aerogram, and small parcel, PA1 b) according to the shipping mode: surface, air, and express, as well as PA1 c) according to the destination: domestic, neighboring countries, world.
Letters are specifically classified with designations such as "standard letter", "compact letter", "large letter" and "extra-large letter", the distinguishing parameters being the weight, thickness, and format size, with different postage fees being charged for the different kinds of letters.
Because it is difficult for the postal customer to determine the correct fee for a piece to be mailed, one postal organization under a pilot project has made available to its customers a set of equipment comprising a scale to weigh the mail piece, a slot arrangement to measure its thickness, and a template to determine the format. This arrangement, too, has to be considered cumbersome to use, because the postal customers themselves have to perform numerous manual operations, decisions and settings in order to get the apparatus to indicate the required postage.